An Introduction to Xbox One’s Menu Layout

I haven’t spent much time on the Xbox One but based on the time I spent with it, it’s fantastic. It’s an definite upgrade from the Xbox 360 in power and aesthetics. While the 360 menu layout began as an uninspired page by page layout and grew into the Windows 8 tile layout we’re all familiar with, the Xbox One, or Xbone, is molded by the Operating System. Depending on who you are or who you talk to, the tile layout may not be the most prettiest but it’s functional.

You dropped down five hundred bones on your brand new Xbox One or are looking to, here is a small introduction on how to navigate through the OS or Operating System.

PINS

Like Windows 8, everything thing you want to open, like apps or games, are tiles and work like – well, apps. You download a game or app or install a game, it appears as a square tile. If you use the app, the tile appears from its respected place to the main home page. If you use NBA 2K14 a whole lot and don’t want to dig through an extra menu, you can ‘pin’ it to the home page. Pinning something to the front page is exactly what it sounds like. Think of it like a corkboard: you use a pushpin to place the pictures or papers you want. You have a limited space of what you could pin so you may have to pin accordingly. Just highlight the application you want to pin, press the new menu button on the Xbox One controller (replacing the start button) and a list of options pop up. Select the pin option and voila, you did it. When you press the home button on the controller, move to the first page on the left and you’ll see your pins for quicker, easier access.

HOME

When you open an app or game or put in a disc, you’ll see it on the home page. The active app (or the very most recent one) appears as the largest tile dead center of the screen. The apps that you’ve used most recent appear below the larger one. You just opened the TV app and closed out the YouTube app, it would look like this.

If you have a disc in the system, you will see the tile for said game one the bottom right corner of that page. In case you forget, it’s the tile with a small CD icon. Above that is the ‘snap’ tile and ‘my games and apps’ tile. ‘My games and apps’ is exactly what you think it is. ‘Snap’ on the other hand allows you to run two apps simultaneously on the same screen. While many apps can run at the same time in the background, ‘Snap’ allows you to play 2K14 while watching YouTube videos. Home is also where you default to when you press the home button on the controller.

STORE

When on the Store page, you see three large tiles; Games, Music, and Movies.

I haven’t spent too much time with the Xbox One to give a full-fledged review but I will say this: with my time spent with the device, I loved it. I thought the OS was fast, intuitive, and somewhat easy to navigate. For me, there was a bit of a learning curve navigating through menus but when you learn the ins and outs it becomes a better experience.

Jonathan Silva is a graduate and current student at Full Sail University going for his Master's Degree in Journalism. When he isn't writing for film blogs like Get The Big Picture or listening to music, he's either watching movies or playing video games. His love for all things entertainment shine through in his writing.